Judge John D. Molloy looks at his computer during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Riverside County Superior Court on Monday, March 30 used what a judge called the “Hollywood Squares” solution to hear defendants’ pleas during the coronavirus pandemic, substituting four images on a drop-down courtroom screen for the usual shoulder-to-shoulder scene for arraignments.

San Bernardino County Superior also is hearing pleas via camera, and Riverside County began testing last week. It was brought on board Monday in Superior Court Judge John D. Molloy’s courtroom in the downtown Riverside Hall of Justice.

“Remain seated, court is now in session,” a sheriff’s deputy said to a nearly-empty Dept. 63, which had about 10 people inside, which in addition to the judge included court personnel and a few observers, spaced far between each other.

The public is barred from court hearings because of the pandemic, and Molloy said each case he heard would note that he found “good cause” to keep the public out, in keeping with local health orders. Media is allowed to cover by applying for permission.

In a scene more common for business meetings, the separate images of Molloy, Deputy Public Defender Christine Juneau and Deputy District Attorney David Kao, and a rotating appearance of in-custody defendants were projected on a drop-down screen. Private attorneys and lawyers appointed from the conflict panel can appear on screen through a setup in the court’s anteroom.

Judge John D. Molloy watches video on his computer monitor during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy performs a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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Judge John D. Molloy looks at his computer during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy speaks during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy watches his computer monitor during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy presides over a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy speaks during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Defendants are displayed on a computer screen as Judge John D. Molloy leads a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy leads a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Judge John D. Molloy speaks during a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Defendants are displayed on a computer monitor as Judge John D. Molloy presides at a video arraignment Monday morning at the Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside March 30, 2020. The court, which has been closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, began performing video arraignments with all the participants being in different places other than the courtroom. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Molloy was prepared to hear pleas from inmates appearing from jails in Riverside, Banning, Indio and French Valley, and heard 28 cases during the day.

Before the session began, Molloy likened the screen appearances to the “Hollywood Squares” television game show, but with each participant broadcasting from a separate place. Unlike the show, Molloy cautioned the participants to “only provide small pieces of information at a time. Only one person can speak at a time,” he told them.

There were some hang-ups. Called inmates were sometimes not promptly on-screen.“It appears that we’re having growing pains,” Molloy commented. Molloy said he hoped the kinks would be worked out by the next session Wednesday.

The video arraignments are a “virtual courtroom,” Riverside County Superior Court Presiding Judge John Vineyard said while work was underway

He said the next challenge for the courts is to figure out how to hold preliminary hearings without violating coronavirus safety orders. A judge decides if a defendant’s case should go to trial at the end of the hearing, in which witnesses are called and evidence is presented, a more complex scene than arraignments.

Vineyard said Monday the expansion of the emergency deadline for a preliminary hearing after arraignment from 10 to 30 court days for preliminary hearings was a welcome move .

A journalist since 1975 for City News Service in Los Angeles, The Associated Press in Los Angeles and New York, and The Press-Enterprise, Richard K. De Atley has been Entertainment Editor and a features writer. He has also reported on trials and breaking news. He is currently a business reporter for The P-E. De Atley is a Cal State Long Beach graduate, a lifelong Southern Californian (except for that time in New York -- which was great!) and has been in Riverside since 1992.

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